Marisha Pessl: Special Topics in Calamity Physics - Groups

Overview: Groups

Shelfari Discussion 288 books / 1634 members / 4549 posts This group is about everything Shelfari. Let's talk about site improvements, issues encountered, and the next great feature we should build.

If you have questions about how to use Shelfari, check out the Shelfari Questions group: http://www.shelfari.com/groups/15217/about

NOTE: Please don't post topics not related to Shelfari features and requests in this group . They will be deleted.

Reader's Cramp 79 books / 199 members / 264 posts This group is solemnly dedicated to every reader's cramp: the aggravating tome.

Do you still remember the last book you read that frustrated the hell out of you? Maybe it led you on, peaked your interest but then clichéd you to death in the dark alley of its final 'graph. Perhaps it promised what it could not deliver, or just grated on you with preachy soapboxing.

Add your "favorite" frustrating books to the group shelf. Vent about your latest letdown. Commiserate, carp, and kvetch. Go ahead, let it all out...we understand.

A series of unfortunate choices 23 books / 46 members / 116 posts Okay, so what's your biggest, latest disappointment with a book that looked or sounded great, or with a book suggested by someone who you really really respect that turned out to be a dog, or maybe just your favorite bad book of all time....?

My latest letdown was "Special Topics in Calamity Physics," which was way too clever in an exhausting way, but which my friend Sue forced me to buy. Still, it paid off in that now there are people at work who after seeing me with the book think I enjoy particle physics as a hobby. So there's that.

And my favorite bad book of all time is "The Thorn Birds." 'Nuff said.

Brilliant Babes (And Dudes) Who Read Selectively 627 books / 165 members / 7261 posts So, what makes you a selective reader? If you like Dan Brown, Danielle Steele, Nicholas Sparks, or similar works, you MAY not be into this club. We are a group of intelligent persons who love both thought-provoking literature and quality brain candy. Actually, I mainly started it for myself and my friends, but anybody can apply if you think you're down with the Brilliant Babes--just send someone a note explaining why YOU think you are a brilliant babe (or dude) who reads selectively. This is a super-casual group. Anybody can suggest a book to read, anybody can add books to the reading list. We welcome any and all intelligent book discussion (not to mention whining about books we hated or gushing about books we loved). And don't worry if you have a really embarrassing book on your shelves...we all have skeletons in the closet.

To ask for an invite please DO NOT use the admin message box, leave a note on the profile pages of either rob or Suze...we will get back to you as soon as we can...thanks for your patience...and if you insist on asking for an invite via the group admin message box you will be ignored...so don't. Also, please remember that, although we TRY to get to everyone's requests in a timely manner, we do have other responsibilities that sometimes delay us from looking at your shelves. Your patience will be rewarded

A note about being snobs: As hard as it is to believe, with all of the nice people here on Shelfari, we get an e-mail once every week or two saying that we are snobs. That really just depends on your definition of a snob. Yes, this is a private group. Yes, we jokingly call ourselves brilliant. Yes, we have rather defined reading tastes that cut out a lot of mass-market fiction. Does that truly make us snobs? We hand-picked many members of our initial group around what we like to read or think we'd like to read. I don't think this makes us so much snobs as "people who want to discuss the kind of stuff that they like to read and don't care to discuss stuff that they don't like to read." (shrugs) We're pretty accepting. So, before sending us mean e-mails, see above for the joining process. And just remember: If you don't make it in, you probably haven't read the same books that we've all read and we'd have nothing to talk about!

A special note from the admin: We want everyone to have a great time here. All we expect is that everyone plays nice! Good-humored sarcasm is in; putting down or harassing our members is not, and we won't hesitate to remove a repeat offender from the group.

Note on the threads: please feel free to go back and resurrect any of the earlier threads that you find interesting...

Our One and Only Love List...

Love in the Time of Cholera...Gabriel Garcia Marquez (J.M.)
Pride and Prejudice...Jane Austen (littlemom)
Jane Eyre...Charlotte Bronte (AthenasDaughter)
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn...Betty Smith (Dana)
A Room With a View...E.M. Forster (Kiki)
To Kill a Mockingbird...Harper Lee (unfinished woman)
The Virgin Suicides,,,Jeffrey Eugenides (ballroom pink)
Dragonfly in Amber...Diana Gabaldon (Aimeesue)
Watership Down...Richard Adams (rob)
Persuasion...Jane Austen (AvidReader)
The Once and Future King...T.H.White (Alicia)
The Sound and the Fury...William Faulkner (katie)
Gone with the Wind...Margaret Mitchell (dickensfan)
The Forsythe Saga...John Galsworthy (cubachick)
Catcher in the Rye...J.D. Salinger (gbett)
Fall On Your Knees...Ann Marie MacDonald (HemingwayHeroine)
Return of the Native...Thomas Hardy (Aaro)
Fight Club...Chuck Palahniuk (Tania B.)
The Great Indian Novel...Shashi Tharoor (ophelia)

Reading The Three Musketeers: The Serial Schedule

Part/Chapters/Start Date/Discussion Date
one/author's preface, 1, 2, 3, 4/17th May/25th
two/5, 6, 7, 8/26th/1st June
three/9, 10, 11, 12/2nd/8th
four/13, 14, 15, 16/9th/15th
five/17, 18, 19, 20/16th/22nd
six/21, 22, 23, 24/23rd/29th
seven/25, 26, 27, 28/30th/6th July
eight/29, 30, 31, 32/7th/13th
nine/33, 34, 35, 36/14th/20th
ten/37, 38, 39, 40/21st/27th
eleven/41, 42, 42, 44/28th/3rd August
twelve/45, 46, 47, 48/4th/10th
thirteen/49, 50, 51, 52, 53/11th/17th
fourteen/54, 55, 56, 57, 58/18th/24th
fifteen/59, 60, 61, 62, 63/25th/31st
sixteen/64, 65, 66, 67, epilogue/1st September/7th

http://www.strandbooks.com/
http://www.daedalusbooks.com/
http://www.hippocrenebooks.com/
http://loyolaclassics.loyolapress.com/

Our Totally Relaxed Book Club! 9 books / 3 members / 31 posts We read whatever we want - pretty much whenever we want- no pressure and no super intellectual discussion!!! :)

No Egg Bake Book Club 37 books / 4 members / 1 posts The rules are simple:
1. Meet at a bar, not a house.
2. Talk about book for at least 40 minutes
3. No exchanging egg-bake recipes.

Coos Bay Book Club 59 books / 15 members / 9 posts We are a book discussion group that meets monthly in the Coos Bay/North Bend area. We are interested in all kinds of books, just as long as they generate good discussion and challenge us to read outside our comfort zone.

Books on the "Group Shelf" are the books we have already read and discussed. The Reading List shows books we will discuss soon. For a list of book recommendations and possible reads for future discussion, check out the book shelf on profile marked "Recommendations".

March 2008: Measure of a Man by Sidney Poitier

April 2008: Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert

May 2008: Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl

June 2008: Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin

July 2008: The Madonnas of Leningrad by Debra Dean

August 2008: (Suggested) A Great and Terrible Beauty (YA) by Libby Bray

September 2008: (Suggested) White Ghost Girls by Alice Greenway

January 2009: Trying to Save Piggy Sneed by John Irving

Mostly Biography, Classics & History 454 books / 87 members / 35 posts This book is for a group of like-minded people who wish to read various books and discuss them. To grow (and to, likely, change) in our opinions and views of the world. Please join me. Just choose from the Books To Read list and we'll discuss which to read. If you feel a book is worth reading by the group, then let me know and we'll see if it gets added to the list.

24 Book Challenge + Chat 598 books / 100 members / 2123 posts The 24 Book Challenge group is currently at full capacity; thank you for your interest.

"In the case of good books, the point is not how many of them you can get through, but rather how many can get through to you.", Mortimer Adler

*This is a group for book lovers who prefer to take an under-promise and over-deliver approach to their reading. It's also for those of us who quake at the thought of "committing" to read 50 books in a twelve month period.

The challenge: Set a goal for yourself to read and enjoy 2 books each month.(If 1 would be a s-t-r-e-t-c-h goal for you, that's great too! If you crave more than 2, go for it. It's your challenge :-)

If you have been keeping track of all that you've read since January 2008, feel free to include those books towards your goal. If you haven't been keeping track, simply begin now.

How it works: Put your name in the subject line of a new post, and start to add your book list. From that point on you can add to your list by replying to the first post in your thread. If you prefer to keep your thread free of others' questions or comments then you may want to include this request in your original post title (e.g. "No comments please"). If you would like questions or comments within your thread, why not include "Comments welcome" in the title? If you feel inspired to write mini-reviews or comments on any book in your list, please do. Whatever feels right for you!

The group shelf:You are also invited to add your 24 + books to the group shelf. If you did write a comment or review please also add this to your book on the shelf. In an effort to keep things simple, we're only using the "Books We've Read" shelf.

Please drop us a note if you have any questions or suggestions for improving the group. We'd love to hear from you!

The Girls Club 46 books / 1 members / 0 posts Women's book club...chatting, eating, drinking and reading.

Reading is the Coolest thing Ever 107 books / 120 members / 52 posts For people who love to read just about anything and think that reading is the coolest thing EVER!! Hahaha! :)

Eat Good Food, Read Good Books 85 books / 6 members / 21 posts Our book club picks books and then meets at restaurants to discuss. We try to match the food as much as possible to the books. I think we enjoy the food just as much or more than the books, thus the order of the title of our book club. Happy Reading

Bham Book Group 50 books / 4 members / 1 posts This is a private group. You need to be invited to join.

SF working women's reading group 18 books / 3 members / 0 posts Friends to share books

Pop-Culture Junkies 398 books / 82 members / 473 posts Pop-culture junkie bibliophiles of the world unite. This group is for those of us who are proud to let the fangirl/fanboy flag fly and happily admit to our pop-culture junkie status. If you own enough movies to open up your own rental store, have more books than you do shelves, have ventured into a comic store more than once in your life, find yourself quoting a book, movie, or television show at least once daily, and thank the tv gods that DVR/Tivo was ever invented...then this is the group for you. We'll discuss the latest in pop culture media and have a good time. The group promises to be a chock full of hoot and a lil bit of nany. Possibly even legend...wait for it...ary.

JC Bookclub 18 books / 6 members / 9 posts

What I have read so far in 2008 47 books / 32 members / 48 posts This is for anyone who is not only an avid reader but an avid searcher of something else good to read. Please post anything you have read this year good or bad so that others can benefit from your point of view.

Reading Group Choices 3 books / 3 members / 0 posts Picks for reading groups -- interesting, thought-provoking, fun, satisfying, unforgettable, and of course, discussible books for reading groups/book clubs.

What is your group reading? Why does it make a good book club pick?

Shelfari: The Site for Books & Readers

Special Topics in Calamity Physics

by Marisha Pessl

Overview: Groups